Family firm aims to put freeze on rivals in expansion

Down below, gardeners are at work in the sunshine, their machinery growling loudly as it devours the grass.

The din threatens to drown out our interview.

However, Mrs Petty is quick to make light of the situation, referring to their likeness, or perhaps lack, to that of the famous labourers in the Diet Coke television advertisements.

She has reason to smile.

As managing director of renowned dehumidifier, water cooler and heat pump maker Ebac, she is responsible for overseeing an expansion and a radical change in its history.

The family-run firm, in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, has this week officially started its serious foray into the white goods market.

After months of planning, the company, which employs about 220 staff, is now making Norfrost chest freezers, with work on producing washing machines just weeks away.

It aims to make at least 50,000 of each every year, but hopes to significantly lift that number.

Ebac last year bought the collapsed Icetech Freezers, moving production of its Norfrost domestic freezer range from the Scottish Highlands to Radius Products’ former plant in Aycliffe.

Icetech fell victim to the demise of electrical retailer Comet and competition from cheaper Chinese imports, with Ebac buying the Norfrost name, equipment, designs and copyright agreements.

However, Mrs Petty readily admits the process of making the goods has been far from smooth.

The company, founded by Mrs Petty’s father John Elliott, appeared on the BBC Two show, Digby Jones: The New Troubleshooter, where it hoped to showcase production to a national audience.

However, equipment problems, most notably faults with a machine to make foam for the freezers, caused frustration.

The process drew criticism from Lord Jones, who returned on a number of occasions hoping to see a production line humming fluently.

It didn’t.

But with the disappearance of the television cameras, has come the departure of such issues.

Mrs Petty says with everything now in place, the firm can now build on its reputation, with distribution deals with Argos and Euronics helping its cause.

She said: “As a company, we have had a good year, and it’s really important that we don’t drop the ball on our dehumidifiers and coolers because they are funding this growth.

“The equipment that stopped the freezer job is now in place and working.

“Our full production run starts this week and it’s great to have the Argos and Euronics agreements.

“But we are working hard to get more and it will get its own momentum.

“Once other retailers see companies like Argos are on board, we will hopefully pick up more by virtue of that.

“The freezers are a better version of the old Norfrost products and we have tweaked aspects such as the fast freeze settings to improve them further.

“It was a real shame that the company couldn’t survive, but it was absolutely the right thing for us to do.

“I did some research and found just how popular Norfrost was in the market.

“Freezers were a whole new world to me, but there are millions of people out there using these Norfrost products.

“I spoke to my dad about it and half expected him to say, ‘Pamela, we are already on with washing machines. Really?’

“But he went away, had a think, and came back and said it looked good.

“It is all about building the company.

“If we want to continue growing, we are unlikely to do that just from dehumidifiers.

“If I could speak to every homeowner, I could probably convince them to get a dehumidifier, but that’s not a very good business model.

“If you want to grow, you have to look at other products.”

As we sit around a table in a spacious meeting room, a freezer is taken away for further inspection.

Parts of a washing machine lie close by, while downstairs three drums spin constantly, in a testing process to make sure they hit specific standards.

Skeletons of machines stand in further parts of the factory, buttons, in varying shades of white, and differing display screens are tinkered with to achieve perfection.

Equipment to make them has started to arrive this week in the form of a moulding machine for the outer tub.

Mrs Petty says more technology will come throughout the summer, so it can fine tune the machines and carry out a soft launch at the end of the year.

The £7m project was supported by £1m from the Government’s flagship Regional Growth Fund, and should benefit from homeowners’ growing passion for goods made in the UK.

When Indesit returned production of its Hotpoint machines to its Italian roots more than seven years ago, the UK's manufacturing sector was left with a major void.

It meant there wasn't a single British-based maker of the everyday kitchen appliance.

However, Ebac aims to change that, taking on the likes of Hotpoint, Indesit and Zanussi.

Pointing from a glass walkway above the factory floor, Mrs Petty gestures towards a forklift, its spinning yellow light flashing brightly.

“That’s where the production line will be for the washing machines,” she reveals proudly.

“We are working hard on them and constantly spinning the motor on some, and stopping and starting others.

“We have to do these tests, so hopefully nothing goes wrong in the field.

“We will look to use the UK-made side of it to get a foot in the marketplace, but we cannot rely on that alone.

“That will get us into the game, but five and ten years on, we want people to see this as a great piece of kit.

“I’d love people to tell us that it has revolutionised their washing experience, but in reality it is still a chore.

“However, we want it to last and be part of people’s lives and give them choice and flexibility on the machines they use so they can configure it to fit their changing family dynamics.

“The big boys are making millions of machines every year in their factories and we are starting with a clean slate.

“That means we can do things that they can’t and we are looking at the pockets of niches, such as more personalised machines, for our attack.”

Earlier this year, Ebac’s name reached a wider audience in Lord Jones’ BBC Two documentary, which was watched by more than one million people.

Where some would perhaps be reluctant to open themselves up for potential criticism, Mrs Petty said the process only delivered benefits, including a meeting with Rita Clifton, former vice-chairman of global advertising agency Saatchi and Saatchi.

She said: “He gave us a lot of advice and access to so many people.

“We had a lot of conversations, a number of which were not shown, and if you’re not learning from someone like him, you’re not doing your job properly.

“He came here eight or nine times and introduced us to Rita.

“She would probably never have entertained us, but we had a full day with her.

“The response has been fantastic, really overwhelming in fact, and 99.9 per cent of the feedback has been positive.

“We got emails and hand-written letters from people saying how much they admire us as a company for what we are doing for the economy and local jobs.

“There was definitely a mutual respect between us and Digby on the show, and I know that if he can help us in any way, then he will.

“He knows a lot of people and is very influential.

“If we can tap into a just a bit of that then it will only make us stronger.”